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CD changer showing NO DISCS

Went for a drive yesterday, played one of my favorite cds that was in the car (I know I should ditch the cd's and get an ipod interface) and all was fine until I switched to a different cd... nothing happened and the radio display now says "NO DISCS" when hitting the mode button to switch to cd player.

I was able to eject the cartridge and all 6 discs are intact so nothing is jammed. I tried reinserting the cartridge but the changer seems to be not picking up any of the discs. I even tried a different cartridge. Any suggestions short of getting another cd changer?

I had a problem like this and it was that something in the head unit had gone bad and no longer saw the CD changer. Guess what my dealers fix was? A new headunit. I kind of like that we are still with CD in the cars- it reflects the era the car came out. It might be possible to resolve this without going so extreme, but thats what happened in my case.

I should have also mentioned than when I insert the cartridge into the cd changer, the changer now makes a different type of sound. I hear a lot of high pitched noises whereas before when it was working properly you could hear the changer picking up and reading the cds. I'm hoping I can just swap out the cd changer.

This brings back memories to me- now I remember- one year I did have a problem with the changer like this- it also made clicking sounds. We replaced the changer. Then a few years later the head unit had to be replaced.....

Unfortunately this seems to be the destiny of these units. My Z3 uses the exact same unit and I've replaced the original one twice meaning I'm on my 3rd unit...all of them had the exact failure you describe. (Knock wood, the ALPINA's unit is still working) These units are about $695 to replace. I found a place on the internet that says they can fix them for something on the order of $150 or so, but I haven't tried that yet. I figure I now have a rotable pool for both the ALPINA and the Z3, that is, if I get them fixed.

Unfortunately this seems to be the destiny of these units. My Z3 uses the exact same unit and I've replaced the original one twice meaning I'm on my 3rd unit...all of them had the exact failure you describe. (Knock wood, the ALPINA's unit is still working) These units are about $695 to replace. I found a place on the internet that says they can fix them for something on the order of $150 or so, but I haven't tried that yet. I figure I now have a rotable pool for both the ALPINA and the Z3, that is, if I get them fixed.

That's a crazy price for old technology. I found similar pricing online too. Since the changer is so easy to replace, I might try a used one from one of the BMW online forums at a fraction of the new price.

I found this on the M5 board. Seems that this CD issue is not all that uncommon. One poster said to smack the side of the cd changer. Figuring that I had to replace the changer and had nothing to lose, I went ahead and removed the cover from the CD changer, gave it a good whack and it works now! Don't know how long it will last but for now it's good.

Nice clear picture. Btw- the unit in the Z8 is different from the M5- to work upright as it has extra bolstering for G forces--- or so they said.

As to a price for old tech- thats true- but consider all the guys (and gals) paying multiples of that for a vintage car part. Thats older tech.

I'm now on a Led Zepp II kick. What I love about this album is its so honest. They made it really fast in between touring for their original album and III. III has a lot of slick production- but II is almost live- because it pretty much was. That same attribute is what makes my favorite Van Halen album Fair Warning.

As to a price for old tech- thats true- but consider all the guys (and gals) paying multiples of that for a vintage car part. Thats older tech.

Excellent point although I would be happier spending the same $$$ on an ipod interface than another cd changer. We'll see how long the "fix" lasts. Car is going into hybernation now that it's getting below freezing. I just feel better knowing that everything works on the car.

My problem with the ipod interface is that the stock headunit really cannot display much of the information and with an ipod I like to browse playlists etc. Of course you can change the head unit but whenever I've done this on a car in the past, its always felt wrong to me, so I just leave the stock head unit alone and live with it. I guess I look at this as I am happy this is what fails over time vs major mechanical parts. That would be bad.

I've had this same problem where my CD unit displays "No Discs" - it has happened at least three times since I bought the car in 2002. As said by the M5 group - I usually remove the disc cartridge, smack the side of the box, the re-insert the disc and it usually works. Sometimes it takes a couple tries before it works again. I use the CD changer constantly when driving about town - I now have about 44,000 miles on the car.

Jerry (and/or others), do you happen to have the part number for your replacement cd changer? I'm thinking I should buy one as a back up now. The part number on realoem.com is 65 12 6 913 390. When I did the "fix" descibed above, the changer in the car is part #65 12 6 913 388.

There are a few changers available online from folks who have gone the ipod route and they all look the same but have different part numbers from those above.

Off the top of my head I dont have it. I will search my records- it might take a little while. Remember the Z8 changer is a unique part- as is the M5 changer. The Z8s is made to be located vertically. The M5s is made for horizontal and both are made for higher G forces.

Off the top of my head I dont have it. I will search my records- it might take a little while. Remember the Z8 changer is a unique part- as is the M5 changer. The Z8s is made to be located vertically. The M5s is made for horizontal and both are made for higher G forces.

No discs

Can't believe, as I read these posts, that just last week, it was my turn to have the changer stop working with the no disc display showing. Whacking didn't work, I was hopeful. The car is meant to have the top down and a great CD blasting away. Had a similar issue with 1997 740IL changer that had to be replaced. It's wrong for a CD player to die with (at least in my case) so little use.

Can't believe, as I read these posts, that just last week, it was my turn to have the changer stop working with the no disc display showing. Whacking didn't work, I was hopeful. The car is meant to have the top down and a great CD blasting away. Had a similar issue with 1997 740IL changer that had to be replaced. It's wrong for a CD player to die with (at least in my case) so little use.

Did you try taking the changer out and unplugging it and then plugging it back in? It was a lot of work, but it worked for me. I now am real careful putting the changer case back in and don't load every slot. It still gets stuck every once in awhile but so far I have kept it alive. I also remove the case after each drive.